.500 teams

[patrickg68]

For those of you who think a playoff would be a good idea for college football, here are two more reasons why it wouldn't. One, there are not one, but two .500 teams getting into the nfl playoffs. Think about that. There are two teams that couldn't win more games than they lost that have the same opportunity to compete for the championship as New England, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

Two, these last two weeks teams have been sitting their star players for fear of injury. Wouldn't that be great for college football. I know there is nothing I would like to see more than a battle of backups in Michigan vs. Ohio State, FSU vs. UF, and Texas vs. Texas A&M.

[Redskin Don]

and "winning" in this context means winning or having a chance to win the "big game" be it the super bowl or a mythical national championship game in Div 1-A. If you've already got your playoff position locked up, then why wouldn't you rest your best players if the game in week 16 is meaningless? As a fan, I'd rather lose in week 16, if there's nothing on the line, than play my best players and take a chance on getting them hurt and not having them ready for the playoffs. Granted, there's a fine line between having a well-rested, healed-up team with no momentum versus one that may be nicked up, but has a full head of steam going into the playoffs. That's why they pay the coaches the big money though.

[Amberion]

The problem this year was that so many teams had a playoff spot locked up after week 14 and the TO injury scared a lot of these teams

[Redskin Don]

Flydelphia's offense is nowhere near the same without him in the lineup as much as I despise him. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of fans, though...

[JPM36]

I think the Eagles are the perfect example of why there SHOULD be a playoff in college football.

Every year we hear about how great they are and every year they fall short of the Super Bowl. If they were a college team they'd probably be going to the BCS title game every year on reputation. But every year in the playoffs they prove they dont have what it takes.

[Redskin Don]

won't be playing in the super bowl this year either. Without that loudmouth, T.O., in the lineup, they can forget it. Their defense sure won't carry them to the promised land. The only team in the NFC East never to have won a super bowl... The "legend" lives on...

[welch]

For those of you who think a playoff would be a good idea for college football

Add another reason: how much of a cut will the players get from the TV and ticket money that would be made from the college playoffs?

None? Because they're amateurs? Without them, there is no game game -- the announcers and coaches and such are extras.

The season runs long enough: how can we request that unpaid amateurs preapre for and play extra games?

[Redskin Don]

it'd take much of a sales pitch to get the players to buy into a D-1A playoff. I'll bet undefeated Auburn's players would jump at the opportunity to play a few more games rather than be completely be locked out from any chance at a national championship.

Regardless, it'll never happen in Division 1-A. The bowls, ABC, and ESPN have too much power and too much money invested in the status quo to make any wholesale changes. There'll be tweaks to the BCS, but it'll never stray far from its current format.

[patrickg68]

Isn't the point of a regular season to weed out the turds? Why even bother with a regular season if there are going to be teams with .500 records in the post season. Just dump the regular season and have a tournament including every single team.

Also, one of my favorite arguments for a playoff in college football is the "well every other sport has a playoff" argument. Just imagine if this philosophy was incorporated into every day society. I can honestly say that I have no respect for someone who shares this belief because they are obviously incapable of original thought and are leading worthless lives.

[Redskin Don]

not all the "excrement" gets weeded out as you call it. It's sports, not real life, and having more teams playing means more people are watching and therefore more people are buying the junk that's advertised during the games between the wannabes. It's the same in just about all the major sporting events in this country or at least it was last time I looked.

Just imagine if this philosophy was incorporated into every day society. I can honestly say that I have no respect for someone who shares this belief because they are obviously incapable of original thought and are leading worthless lives.

Sports, in this instance, doesn't mirror real life nor would I want it to, but these are the rules and the teams that are in the playoffs are there because they played by the rules and won the games they had to win.

[patrickg68]

You may have more teams playing for something at the end of the year in the nfl, but lets be honest here. If an 8-8 team wins its final game to advance into the playoffs, they are only earing the right to get sent home the next week. The only teams that matter are the ones who are resting their starters the final two weeks of the season. And since the main argument for a playoff is fairness, how about we start by extending fairness to only those teams that earn it. Why should Philadelphia, New England, and Pittsburgh have to compete with a bunch of inferior teams for the right to play in the Super Bowl? The regular season essentially means nothing if a team can go undefeated and still have to compete against a .500 team in the post season. Also, can anyone here name one classic regular season game in the NFL? Anyone? Every year in college football there are several classic games with either one or both of the teams having national title aspirations. If there had been a playoff in college football would anyone remeber 69' UT vs. Arkansas? What about 71' OU vs. NU, or 88' Miami vs. Notre Dame? How about this year. USC played a classic against Cal, Stanford, and UCLA. OU played in great games against Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. Auburn played in a great game against LSU. What makes college football special is the fact that it is different. Contrary to popular belief not everything has to be (nor should it) the same.

[Redskin Don]

The regular season essentially means nothing if a team can go undefeated and still have to compete against a .500 team in the post season.

Bull. There were a lot of teams out there who had worse records than .500 and you may not like it, but those are the rules and I like them the way they are. Besides there's one undefeated team. Are you implying then that all the rest of the teams in the playoffs are unworthy to play on the same field as the Steelers? Under your rules, we don't even need playoffs. Let's just go ahead and crown the Steelers and be done with it.

[patrickg68]

Why not crown the Steelers. Have they not earned it after going 15-1 in the regular season? You will know a hell of a lot more about who the best team is after playing 16 regular season games than you will after playing 3 or 4 post season games. How can you deny the fact that the NFL regular season is worthless? Not one, but two teams lost as many games as they have won and have earned the right to play for the championship. You must be in denial if you think that nfl regular season actually means anything. Right now I hope either Minnesota or St. Louis wins the Super Bowl just to prove how much of a joke the NFL has become.

[BossHog]

So your argument in one post was that these .500 teams are only 'earning the right to be sent home next week' and then in your next post... the end of the world is coming because a .500 team gets a shot at a championship.

So which is it? Are they playing for a championship, or just earning a trip home the next week?

Because you can't butter both sides of the bread.

In reality it's because you know that NONE of these teams are just 'earning a trip home the next week' and that most of them have a legitimate shot of winning. They have a legitimate shot at winning BECAUSE they are, at that point in the season, capable of beating the team that they are playing against.

And if they do that TWICE... beat teams that they are supposedly NOT better than... in your opinion, they're still not the best team to represent that conference in the final? Because they didn't have the best regular season?

Well... you're entitled to your opinon.

[Redskin Don]

so I'm having a hard time figuring out what you're jumping and down about.

[quote]You must be in denial if you think that nfl regular season actually means anything. Right now I hope either Minnesota or St. Louis wins the Super Bowl just to prove how much of a joke the NFL has become.[quote]

I love football and hate that it's coming to an end until August. The more teams involved, the more games there are to watch.

If you think it's a joke, I guess you could always watch figure skating. Nothing to complain about there and the guys do wear those really nice tights.

[patrickg68]

I did not make two arguments. I said that Minnesota and St. Louis are in the playoffs and thus have a theoretically have a shot at winning the championship, but in reality chances are that they will lose in the opening round. I don't care if Minnesota or St. Louis wins 3 games to advance to the Super Bowl. Under a legitimate system they wouldn't have earned that right. Any team can get hot and win 3 or 4 in a row, that doesn't mean that they are the best team. The best team is the one that performs the best over 16 games. That just seems like common sense to me.

I would rather watch a real sport like college football. The NFL used to be good. But now once you have seen one game you have seen everything there is to see. Everything is the same. Teams, stadiums, systems. Revenue sharing and the salary cap have made it so that there are no great teams any more. What reason is there to follow your team year in and year out. Some roster turnover is good to generate interest in the team, but having a completely different roster from year to year is ridiculous. With the exception of Lambeau field, can anyone name a great stadium left in the NFL? All of the new stadiums are the same. All offensive systems are the same. Sure they may vary slightly, but for all intents and purposes, a pro style system is a pro style system. You guys were going nuts when gibbs was hired. You were excited about 50 gut and the counter trey. Those plays are in every teams playbook.

[Redskin Don]

about Joe Gibbs' hiring.

[BossHog]

I did not make two arguments..

I don't think you made any arguments... and I still don't.

And if a 16 game regular season is a waste of time... what do you think of baseball, hockey and basketball?

I said that Minnesota and St. Louis are in the playoffs and thus have a theoretically have a shot at winning the championship, but in reality chances are that they will lose in the opening round. I don't care if Minnesota or St. Louis wins 3 games to advance to the Super Bowl. Under a legitimate system they wouldn't have earned that right.

... legitimate system like what? like the college system?



yep... the BCS is leading the way in fine playoff formats.

Any team can get hot and win 3 or 4 in a row, that doesn't mean that they are the best team. The best team is the one that performs the best over 16 games. That just seems like common sense to me.

They're not just winning 3 or 4 games in a row... they're winning 3 games in a row against the other best teams that the league has to offer. So if a bunch of teams face off against each other in a single elimination knock out format, the best team is the one that is left standing. That just seems like common sense to me.

By your logic... NO playoff system could EVER be as fair in determining the best team as the regular season could... well unless you made the regular season 3 games and the playoffs 16 games.

I would rather watch a real sport like college football. The NFL used to be good. But now once you have seen one game you have seen everything there is to see. Everything is the same. Teams, stadiums, systems. Revenue sharing and the salary cap have made it so that there are no great teams any more. What reason is there to follow your team year in and year out. Some roster turnover is good to generate interest in the team, but having a completely different roster from year to year is ridiculous. With the exception of Lambeau field, can anyone name a great stadium left in the NFL? All of the new stadiums are the same. All offensive systems are the same. Sure they may vary slightly, but for all intents and purposes, a pro style system is a pro style system. You guys were going nuts when gibbs was hired. You were excited about 50 gut and the counter trey. Those plays are in every teams playbook

... and that relates to the playoff format how?

Sounds to me like you're fed up with football, maybe even professional sports in general... but that's a different topic entirely.

And incidentally, I can probably name nearly every stadium in the league. Perhaps you PERSONALLY don't have the same interest in everything any more, but that doesn't mean that everybody doesn't.

[BringThePain!]

Any team can get hot and win 3 or 4 in a row, that doesn't mean that they are the best team. The best team is the one that performs the best over 16 games. That just seems like common sense to me.

So 2 of the 3 Dallas Championships of the 90's weren't legit.. they were just a sham... since they weren't the best team over the 16 week season...

So there was no Dallas Dynasty in the 90's... That's Awesome... thanks for clearing that up 68...

[Skinsfan55]

I'll save him the trouble of responding:

"Uh...err...I... that's not what I um... errr... meant

I mean! We beat you twice this season so we're awesome! despite the same exact record!"

[joebagadonuts]

Also, can anyone here name one classic regular season game in the NFL? Anyone?

chargers-colts, skins-dallas (grr), jets-rams....and that's just in the last couple of weeks.

Every year in college football there are several classic games with either one or both of the teams having national title aspirations

and there are pretty good yawners as well, where a top-ranked team faces a nobody in their conference.

You must be in denial if you think that nfl regular season actually means anything

tell that to the chargers.

I would rather watch a real sport like college football. The NFL used to be good

if you can't feel the excitement of professional football, and specifically, the playoffs, then you're right; you should move on to another sport, or another level of the game. the skins aren't even in the playoffs, and i'm excited about the upcoming games.

[patrickg68]

Thats fine, take away the Cowboys championships. Give them to the teams that had the best records during 1992, 1993, and 1995. Those teams would be the 49ers in 1992, and the Chiefs in 1995. The Cowboys tied for the best record in the nfl in 1993 with Bills and Oilers.

I never said a 16 game schedule is a waste of time. I said the nfl makes it a waste of time by allowing teams that don't even have winning records into the playoffs. It is even more unfair for there to be a playoff in baseball and basketball. If you don't know who the best team is after 82 or 162 games, you won't ever know.

You can bash college football all you want, but at the end of the day, it is still the only sport with an important, dramatic, and exciting regular season. It may not be perfectly fair, but the only system that is perfectly fair is one that includes every single team. The nfl, and any sport with a playoff is only operating under the illusion of fairness.

I don't care if you can name every stadium. Can you name any great ones? How many of you are glad that the redskins don't play in RFK anymore?

[patrickg68]

Of course your excited about the upcoming games. The NFL has now left the preseason and is now 5 months after the beginning of training camp finally starting to play some games that mean something.

[BringThePain!]

Of course your excited about the upcoming games. The NFL has now left the preseason and is now 5 months after the beginning of training camp finally starting to play some games that mean something.

so if you don't care about it why are you here? I'm bored with the Home and Garden Channel... you don't see me over at there message boards...

[Irn-Bru]

Of course your excited about the upcoming games. The NFL has now left the preseason and is now 5 months after the beginning of training camp finally starting to play some games that mean something.

The meaningful games started back in September. For instance, had the Redskins won three out of their first five games instead of one out of the first five, we'd all be talking about how far into the playoffs the Skins would go right about now.

In the same way, games may "come down to a single play," such as those winning field goals and touchdown passes. But no one is advocating that we bring two teams and don't even play the game, but rather line up a field goal attempt to see who wins.

As for the argument that playoffs aren't legitimate because 8-8 teams can make it in, I don't buy it. They've set a system up so that more than 4 teams have to compete head to head in order to win the championship--this year it just happened to be possible for 8-8 teams to get in. In other years, 10-6 teams haven't made it. To look only at straight records discounts many of the factors that make the NFL the NFL, such as conferences and divisions.